Shawn Ryan

One of the biggest frustrations of being a TV critic (or any TV fan, for that matter) is watching a solid, creatively ambitious show fail to become a giant hit.

To wit: ABC’s military thriller “Last Resort.” Despite producing easily the best pilot of the fall season, the drama series about a rogue U.S. submarine crew led by Andre Braugher launched to only so-so ratings a few weeks ago and has been struggling to stay afloat ever since. It’s the best show you’re not watching.

We can spend a lot of time parsing through various theories: It faces strong competition on Thursday nights … It’s too sprawling and complex … Or maybe, at this point in time, people simply don’t want to watch a show where the U.S. government is shown in a bad light and/or U.S. forces are pitted against each other.

Or we can just put all that aside and continue to encourage you to check out the show.

The good news is that tonight’s episode — “Skeleton Crew” (8 p.m., ABC) — is a great time to jump aboard (or reaffirm your commitment). It’s an epic, tense and suspenseful piece of television that ranks as the show’s best hour since the pilot.

Even this fervent supporter of “Last Resort” must admit that it hasn’t always fired on all cylinders during its maiden voyage. After having my mind blown during the pilot, I thought the follow-up episode was a disappointing letdown. And co-creators Shawn Ryan and Karl Gajdusek haven’t always succeeded at pulling the disparate elements of their heavily populated series together.

For example, the conspiracy stuff going on in Washington D.C. has been frustratingly murky — and not nearly as compelling as the stories happening on the sub or the tropical island where our embattled crew has sought refuge.

“Skeleton Crew,” however, gets it right. The episode, largely shot on Oahu’s beautiful North Shore, has Marcus (Braugher) and Sam (Scott Speedman) entering into tense negotiations with the Secretary of Defense (Jay Karnes), who arrives on the island, backed by a small crew of U.S. forces. Meanwhile, Grace (Daisy Betts) leads the USS Colorado on a perilous repair mission when a critical underwater system fails.

From the start, we’ve been praising the performance of Braugher, who is simply mesmerizing as the Colorado’s commander — a man who refused orders to fire upon Pakistan and now is being accused of treason. But let’s not overlook the efforts of Speedman, who not only looks great in Navy whites, but has gone toe-to-toe with Braugher in many scenes and held his own.

In tonight’s episode, the Secretary of Defense basically tries to paint Marcus as a lunatic and pit Sam against him. That leads to several tense moments between the two key characters and Speedman is electrifying.

Meanwhile, the always reliable Robert Patrick continues to shine as a tough-talking chauvanist who routinely tangles with Betts’ earnest, under-the-gun female officer. Thus far, I’ve had my issues with Betts who sometimes comes across as flat and unconvincing, but she has some breakout moments in this episode.

And back in Washington, it’s good to see the hard-nosed defense contractor played by Autumn Reeser and Sam’s tormented wife (Jessy Schram) come together in an attempt to get to the bottom of the government’s apparently duplicitous actions. As I mentioned, this end of the saga hasn’t fully resonated so far and/or done enough to make us care. Their us-against-the-world pairing could be a sign of good things to come.

“Last Resort” has been compared by some to “24” and tonight the show delivers a stunning, “24”-like twist that pretty much plunged my jaw to the floor. Rather than provide any spoilers connected to this “wow” moment, I’ll just encourage you to watch. And enjoy.

We don’t do the spoiler thing here at TV Freak. So you’ll get no big hints at what happens in tonight’s spectacular 90-minute finale of “The Shield.”

All I can say is that this groundbreaking crime series goes out the way all great shows should (but few do), which is brilliantly. And, yes, we get a definitive ending to the Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) story. There is no munching on onion rings in a roadside diner. There is no abrupt fade to black.

This is probably one of the best drama finales I’ve seen. It contains tantalizing twists, a couple of real shocks and some highly poignant moments. It’s a finale you really feel.

There are some great acting performances from the usual suspects that we’ve come to expect (Walton Goggins as Shane is particularly effective) and even one from a guest star — Andre Benjamin of Outkast — that you might not expect. He is excellent as a rabble-rousing political shyster.

Even if you’ve lost track of “The Shield” over the years, it’s worth your while to return to the Barn tonight to see what creator Shawn Ryan and his remarkable ensemble have concocted as their going-away gift. No doubt about it, this show will definitely be missed.